Vannin' Home Forums General Discussion Performance - non brand specific gas mileage

What kind of gas mileage do you guys get in your vans? I have an 87 dodge with a 360 4barrel Edelbrock. 3/4 ton.

I would say I got around 10mpg maybe 12. does this sound adverage? My engine died on me but I'm rebuilding it.

That sounds pretty low. Well, that would depend on your rear end gears and driving style. I have an 84 E-150 with a 351 windsor/C-6 and I have and edelbrock performer intake and carb and I get around 15-17 MPG in town with a light foot. On the highway I can get over 20 MPG if I take it easy.

My Dodge,
a '90 Ram 250 with a 360 w/EFI and Auto with OD
gets around 16 mpg solo and drops to around 10 mpg towing the travel trailer.

So I would say you had a problem somewhere.

Our Aerostar does a lot better, averages about 24 - 26 mpg.

CD

Im getting what CD gets with my dodge w/a 318.

My astro gets about 14 around town, maybe 17-18 HW.

my van has a diesel, weighs around 8000 lbs. I get aroung 18 around town and 14-16 towing a 6000lb. trailer on the highways.

Mine is a 88 E150 with 351W/C6 with a 3.91 to 1 (11/43) rear gear and it gets about 11 in cruise. If I'm towing anything with a little weight to it and running 65 or 70 it drops to 5 or 6.
See why I need a change?

Catfish- If you drive that thing alot you may want to spring for a different rear gear ratio.

laylow- spend the money on getting a "RV" type cam. This help with low end torque so theoretically you can turn fewer RPMS to go the same speed. The engine in my Ford was rebuilt with a cam very similar to that offered in the Edelbrock Power Package.

Catfish you need to put a diesel in that thing.

Laylowcustoms, Until Labor Day I had an 01 Dodge 360 that started with 355 gears. I got 12.5mpg in town and a whopping 14 on the highway, so, no, your mileage I am told is probably right for the 360 because I couldn't beleive I got that rotten of mileage on a computer controlled vehicle that had been around for years. My 78 318 got around 20 with a Holly Economaster carb. I put 410 gears in it for towing and got loads more umph and still got 12.4 in town and the same 14 on the highway. That and the crappy towing is why I now have a deisel Ford. I just put fuel in it today, last time was first part of October...granted, I don't drive it much during the week but the Dodge only went 2 weeks on the same driving habits. That is probably why Dodge trucks had the worst fuel economy of all the vehicles recently tested. Even worse than those damn Hummers!!

My van weights 6400lbs from the factory. All of the factory interior was removed including pannels, carpet, sets, etc. I built a huge speaker box behind the drivers head and sealed it off from the rear of the vehicle. I have yet to weigh the van and see if I weigh more or less than factory.

I have a 87 B250 with a factory 360 4 barrel 904 tranny with no overdrive. When I bought the van I would hit the gas and it would fall on its face. So I replaced it with an edelbrock. I think I get more mileage with it but not sure. I do know that I got one hell of a preformance/power increase. I do not know what rearend gears I'm running. But I have been running a lot large wheel/tire combo. Think factory was something like 235/70/15. I've been running 274/45/20. I know these wheels wight more but that shouldn't affect it that much.

Does this sound like what I've done would affect the mileage?

I believe I should have more power and better fuel mileage when I get it runing again. I know a new engine is more efficient than old engines plus I've added a 2" carb spacer and a pair of 2.5" performance headers. You think I'll get better mileage/more power with these upgrades?

Tire A:
235/70 R 15 (28 x 9.25 x 15)

Tire B:
275/45 R 20 (30 x 10.83 x 20)

Width A 9.25" B 10.83" Diff. +1.57"

Sidewall ht. A 6.48" B 4.87" Diff. -1.60"

Ovrall ht. A 27.95" B 29.74" Diff. +1.79"

Circum. A 87.82" B 93.44" Diff. +5.63"

If your speedometer has been calibrated for 235/70 R 15 tires,
replacing them with 275/45 R 20's would result in the speedometer reading low by 6.02%.

Same for the odometer, it would result in the odometer reading low by 6.02%.

Info from
DML Tire and Wheel Calculator

Adding 1.79" to the diameter of your tires would raise your axle ratio.
lowering your torque, but raising your top end.
This should improve fuel milage and make the acceleration a little slower.

The Headers can help mileage.

What size cfm carb do you have?
And which Edelbrock Manifold do you have.

These two items can either help or ruin fuel mileage depending on the specs.

You might consider changing over to a EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) unit from a later Van like my '90.

Hope this helps, CD

I have a 600 cfm carb with a stock intake manifold. I have a 2 inch carb spacer

600 cfm is a good size for a daily driver non racing 360. Is it the Performer Series carb? I still think you should be getting more like 16 MPG. How is your driving style? Do you punch it a lot and accelerate aggressively? This can affect mileage drastically. CD

I'm actually rather light on the pedal. It is a pereformer series carb

Thats a good carb for your use.

If your light on the pedal, with the new motor and the performance enhancments youv'e added I would be very surprised if your mileage didn't improve.

CD

I understand you TradesMann
I only drive the van every once in a while so the mileage doesnt bother me too much. Its just that I wondered if its normal for that kind of mileage.

I do enjoy stomping the gas and racing in a big van.

PS its a factory 4 barrel intake

my dodges i never took the time to figure it out either , but they were never real hard on gas as far as i can remember but that was a few vans ago.
now my chevy astro on the other hand gets great gas mileage even with the 350 and a 4barrel and the new cam . but it don`t weigh that much either.

Every Dodge I've ever had, 318, 360, 440, 2bbl, 4 bbl, shorty, LWB, has gotten 10-12 mpg. Maybe the driver, tho.

I know this really doesn't have to do with gas mileage but I have another question.

Does anybody know how much HP/Torqe these vans make? I've been wondering what they came with from the factory. Like stated eariler I'm rebuilding my engine with a few minor performance upgrades and would like to know how much power I will be making. I think I may take it to a DYNO this year at a local carshow just for kicks.

PS what is in your Old dodge Hurricane? That thing books

Here's an oldie .....

I have 2 454 4L80E, '92 has 4:10 rear & the '93 has 4:56 gears. Both of my 454 get 14 MPG. The '93 was calculated over a 6700 mile road trip to the Florida Keys & back to San Diego 14 mpg. The '92 was calculated on a 2200 mile trip from Cedar Rapids Iowa to San Diego 14.25 mpg.

Its all how you drive, if you jack rabbit lights or has to be 1st in line your mpg goes down. Easy on the pedal up hills & coast down & you will get good mpg.

With 454's I can just about idle up hills cause of the displacement of the motor.